Both Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU) and Cape Town Tourism (CTT) have spoken out against the ongoing labour strike at Robben Island and called for urgent action to resolve the issue.
This comes after an incident over the weekend that saw strikers preventing tourists from boarding a ferry to visit the World Heritage Site, as well as clashes with police officials. This eventually resulted in the cancellation of all tours that day.
Due to the shortage of staff since the start of the strike, Robben Island has offered only two of its regular four daily trips from the V&A Waterfront.
Calvyn Gilfellan, CTRU CEO says: “We do not condone violence of any kind, neither do we approve when strike action mars for tourists the experience of what would have been a memorable visit to one of the world’s premier heritage sites. Robben Island belongs to all of us and the world. It symbolises the triumph of the human spirit over oppression and is a testimony that the hope of a more humane future can be achieved.
“We cannot enter another summer with a new Robben Island fiasco and
call on all parties involved to urgently resolve this impasse,” said
Gilfellan.
CTT CEO, Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold, said: “Anything that affects access to Robben Island, such as non-operational boats or strikes, is unfortunate as it not only affects travellers who have already booked seats, often some months in advance, but also affects visitors' overall perception of Cape Town as a destination.”
Robben Island Museum (RIM) CEO, Sibongiseni Mkhize,
said: “Robben Island Museum would like to apologise to all its
stakeholders for the inconvenience which has been caused by the ongoing
strike by members of Nehawu. RIM Management is particularly disturbed by
the incident which happened on Saturday when Nehawu members invaded the
ferry and interfered with RIM’s operations. We would like to assure our
visitors, tour operators and members of the public that services have
been restored and Robben Island Museum managed to continue running its
tours on Sunday.”
“The management has decided to seek legal advice regarding the
incident which took place on Saturday. The Council and management of
Robben Island Museum will make all efforts to ensure that the strike
comes to an end as a matter of urgency in order to ensure uninterrupted
service to our visitors,” said Mkhize.
